Her Green Eyes
by Luthengrad
Summary: Sakura doesn't just talk to her own imaginary friend. She can see everyone else's, even if they can't. Or at least that's what she thinks until a strange girl appears out of thin air, able to see them too.


Sakura was arguing with herself as she brushed her hair. Or at least that's what she appeared to be doing. Except that most of the time when people are talking to themselves you can pick up bits and pieces of both sides of the debate. In this respect Sakura's conversation was slightly unusual. To the outside observer it sounded more like a radio conversation as only one half could be heard.

"I wonder what team I'll be on?

"I hope I'm with Sasuke.

"Ew. Gross. I'd kill myself I was on the same team as Naruto.

"Yeah. Probably kill _him_."

It should be noted that from Sakura's point of view all of this was much less confusing. But what that says of her mental condition is less certain. Suffice to say that she wasn't insane, probably, and certainly no more imbalanced that the average ninja of Konoha.

Satisfied that her hair was up to the Sasuke-standard, Sakura tied her forehead protector where her headbands used to be. She posed once for the mirror and any invisible audience before grabbing her things and heading for the academy.

* * *

"I've got good news and bad news," the huge green butterfly said from its perch on her desk.

Sakura wasn't sure how long she'd been able to see him. She did vaguely recall a period between glimpsing him and beginning to see the others. She'd asked her parents about him not too long ago and they'd seemed surprised that she still had her imaginary friend. Sakura quickly denied that and had continued to do so ever since. It was one thing to have an imaginary friend. Another to think you see everyone else's.

Sakura tapped the desk twice - bad, negative. You got weird looks talking to yourself in public. She and Shannaro had a multitude of signals and when worse came to worse, meaningful looks. He was after all just her imaginary friend, part of her mind.

"It's really bad." The green was darkening... becoming a very dark orange.

Sakura traced a spiral on her desk - Naruto, idiot.

"Yep."

Sakura groaned and stopped just short of slumping over in defeat. This was much less subtle that her previous signals. So much so that it got Ino's attention from where she was sitting.

"Tired, Forehead? Not good enough to keep Sasuke company? I'd be happy to take over."

"Ino! Quiet. I haven't finished." Iruka-sensei helpfully interrupted her interruption. "As I was saying..."

It wasn't like Sakura to blithely ignore an instructor but _Naruto_. Didn't matter anyway, between Shannaro and her, she'd get more that most of the speech. She tapped the desk again, just once - good, positive. Hopefully whatever good news Shannaro had was very good news.

A little smugly the butterfly opened his wings, now a rich dark blue to reveal an uchiwa on each.

Sakura was tempted to grin like a maniac but that wouldn't be good for her reputation, so she settled for a light smile and sitting up straighter in her chair. And a glance to her left to see if Sasuke had noticed her.

He made no move to show if he had. But that was a considerable portion of what intrigued her about Sasuke. Her imaginary friends made it generally quite easy to guess the character of people around her. Well adults really, children's tended to shift a lot. And they tended to be just as layered as people were. Iruka's owl for instance wasn't just his love of knowledge and sharing it, but his vigilance, stealth, protectiveness, and claws hidden under fluffy feathers. And possibly long nights up marking essays.

Sasuke's beast - Sakura still hadn't decided on a name for her imaginary friends - was almost always hidden. Sakura had managed a few glimpses and it was almost always black, sometimes red. And a variety of animals: spiders, snakes, beetles, mice, ravens, and one time the most beautiful black cat she had ever seen. That was why she tried to catch his eye. In the hope that she'd be the one to bring that cat back to life.

Shannaro buoyed by her thoughts shifted into a brilliantly plumaged bird of paradise and fluttered up to sit on Sakura's head. Another weird thing about her imaginary friends was that sometimes she thought they were solid. Not that she'd ever tried to touch someone else's, something deep inside told her that was wrong. But Shannaro sitting on her head felt like any other bird sitting on her head. Of course any genjutsu master could incorporate more than just sight into their genjutsu. Even if Shannaro would would make for the weirdest genjutsu ever, and Sakura for the least expected target. Though that didn't explain the times she was sure that Shannaro had moved things for her.

"Earth to Sakura." Shannaro sang from his perch. Knocking her out of her contemplation as Iruka finished announcing team six. "Prepare to react."

"Team seven: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke. Jonin-sensei: Hatake Kakashi."

"Yes!" Sakura cheered, finally able to express her excitement at being with _Sasuke_. Then noticing that the idiot was cheering as well, turned to glare and groan at him.

* * *

Sakura was bored. So bored that Shannaro had been reduced to a hibernating sloth. She also felt guilty about the fiasco at lunch and being quite so mean to Naruto. He'd been transformed, true, but his companion had ruined the illusion. Sasuke's would never be caught flying around as a lovebird. Or fall to the ground as a warty toad when she made fun of Naruto. But after getting more or less the same treatment from Sasuke for a stupid comment she had to admit that she'd been a bit harsh.

Unsure of how to proceed, Sakura looked in Naruto's direction. Carefully discrete so that he wouldn't get overexcited or anything. He looked as bored as she felt, but rather than sleeping his beast his was dancing in front of him on the desk. All matter of shapes, sizes and colours but given that Naruto couldn't see her, pointlessly. The dancing stopped and she turned into a fox - which Sakura absently noted had two tails. Simultaneously Naruto's face broke into a grin.

Sakura continued staring at nothing while Naruto set up his prank. His furtive movements were undermined by his constant giggling. Shannaro is far more amused than Sakura and he - now a cat - leaps to the desk nearest the door for a front row seat.

"Hey, what do think you're doing?" Sakura asked finally surrendering to her curiosity.

"It's his own fault for being late," Naruto replied seriously.

"Whatever, it's your problem if you get in trouble."

"I love these pranks!" Shannaro unhelpfully added, unheard by anyone other than Sakura.

"As if a jonin will fall for a simple trap like that," Sasuke noted.

"Yeah!" Sasuke's companion snake is smiling over his collar. "Naruto, you idiot."

"Nice save there. Good fall back, calling Naruto an idiot. Served you well."

Sakura couldn't take Shannaro's sarcasm and gave him whithering glare number four.

Not too much later the door opens and incredulously the eraser hit its target. Presuming the tall, grey haired, eye covered man was their jonin-sensei.

"He fell for it!" Naruto managed between laughs.

"I'm sorry, Sensei, I tried to stop him, but Naruto-kun didn't listen to me..."

"Yeah," sarcastic Shannaro interjected, "really hard. Though the -kun is a good start. There is hope for you yet."

"Really?" Sasuke asked bewildered and sounding half afraid of the answer, "Is he really a Jonin?"

"How should I say this..." Hatake-sensei paused and Sakura almost expects him to talk to the red eyed raven on his shoulder. "My first impressions of you guys are... I hate you."

Though the way his familiar is laughing, he probably isn't telling the truth.

* * *

Sakura smiled faintly from her hiding space. Sensei had been just as late this morning as yesterday, so she felt vindicated in her decision to have breakfast. The raven had first tipped her off, alternating between laughing as Hatake-sensei explained things or making begging motions. She wasn't sure what he'd been begging for. But the overall impression had left Sakura untrusting, so she'd had breakfast against orders. If things went really bad, vomiting would be the least of her problems.

Her smile faltered. This was a more combat focused test, and she knew that Sasuke was the best and even if he was the dead last, Naruto was really hard to beat in a spar. So they were much more likely to get the bells than she was. And Sensei had already got the idiot in a trap.

"He's coming," Shannaro called from where he was being lookout.

Sakura tensed, she wasn't ready for this. She shouldn't have spent so much time on her hair. Or even books, the shinobi code wasn't going to tell her how to get a bell.

"Throw!"

One thing she had practised though was targeting Shannaro. So without a thought she twisted and threw her kunai where she'd heard Shannaro's voice. And ran.

She got a glimpse of a surprised jonin loosing a bit of hair to her half-wild throw.

Sakura ran through the undergrowth, and could tell that Sensei hadn't fallen for any of her traps. But they were just academy level traps. The more depressing thing was that she was certain he was chasing her at just the speed so that no distance was gained or lost.

Even Shannaro's attack on the raven doesn't work. Though Sensei seems confused as where the pain or disorientation came from. But it only lasts a little while before the raven claws back and it's Sakura's turn to stumble.

Suddenly she was in a clearing. And on the other side, resting against a tree in a pool of blood, was Sasuke. Sakura couldn't help it, she screamed. Partly because of the blood, partly because it was Sasuke and partly because something had just landed on her shoulder.

"It's okay. It's a genjustu," Shannaro soothed from her shoulder. "Dispell it. Quickly now."

Shakily, Sakura nodded and brought her hands up in the dispelling seal, "Kai."

The bloody Sasuke dissappeared and was replaced by Hatake-sensei. "Not bad, not bad. Not nearly good enough though."

"Crap." Shannaro managed before everything went black.

"Any idea how long I was out?" Sakura muttered when she came to. Sensei hadn't even bothered to tie her up.

"Ten, fifteen minutes," Shannaro replied, "I heard him and Sasuke fighting. I don't think Sasuke got a bell."

"This test is stupid," Sakura muttered to herself as she followed Shannaro's scenting nose to where Sasuke was, "As if a genin is going to defeat a jonin? The odds are like four to one or..."

Sakura had trailed off half because of the epiphany, half because Shannaro had lead her to Sasuke's head. Or more accurately where he was buried up to his neck.

"Let me help you Sasuke-kun!" Sakura gushed, and started using her kunai as a trowel.

"Time's running out. I'm going." Is all Sasuke says once he's unburied.

"Sasuke-kun, I worked it out. It's a trick."

"I touched it last time. I'll get it this time." He replied obviously not listening to her.

"Gah!" Sakura snarls as she grabs him and turns him around. "That's what he wants!" Sasuke seems too surprised by a fangirl ranting at him rather than professing undying love to throw her off. "Have you ever heard of a genin team of two people?"

Before she can finish her rant, somewhere in the distance the alarm goes off.

"Damn it," Sasuke curses as he shrugs her off, "you wasted all my time talking."

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura sighs before trailing after him.

"It'll work out," Shannaro crooned, wrapped around her neck.

"Sit, sit." Hatake-sensei motions for Sasuke and Sakura to sit in front of Naruto tied to a post. There are two bento sitting there innocently, temptingly. Sakura can't help it, her stomach growls, it had been a tough morning's work. Though not nearly as loud as the boys'. "Hungry? Anyway, none of you need to return to the Ninja Academy."

Over Naruto's gasp, Shannaro mutters something.

"This is another trick isn't it?" Sakura asks, sharing Shannaro's suspicions.

"No, no, no. Not a trick." A significant pause. "All three of you should stop being ninja altogether."

"Quit being ninjas? What do you mean? We couldn't get a bell, but why do you have to say we should quit?" Naruto of course.

"It's because you three are just kids who don't even deserve to become ninjas."

"Sasuke and I worked it out." Sakura said, even as Sasuke's charge made her a liar.

"Really?" Sensei asked mockingly, "It doesn't look like it."

"Worked out what?" Naruto pouted from his post.

"Teamwork, Naruto," Sakura sighed, "This was meant to test us as a team. The two bells was a trick."

Sensei dropped Sasuke to clap. "Congratulations! You've gotten further than any other team I've tested!"

"That doesn't sound promising," Shannaro groaned.

"_But_," Sensei continued, "Sakura, you obviously were more concerned about Sasuke than Naruto. You didn't help Naruto and a genjutsu of Sasuke was enough to leave you open to attack. Naruto, you acted on your own, repeatedly. Sasuke, you obviously considered neither teammate worth your time, to the point that you almost missed Sakura yelling the answer in your face.

"Since you're doing so much better than anyone else, I'm going to give you three a second chance. I leave you to have lunch, and you can try again after lunch. But! No feeding Naruto, that's his punishment for trying to steal lunch early. See you in an hour!" With that the jonin disappeared in a cloud of leaves and smoke.

"Is he gone?" Naruto asked.

"I can't sense him," Sasuke replied.

"Me neither," Sakura added which in this case meant that Shannaro couldn't see him either.

Naruto's stomach growled like a city devouring beast, "I'm okay, you guys eat. I'll be okay." His now toad familiar was curled on the ground, three seconds from eating itself.

Sasuke just gave him a look. "Here."

"What? No! But Sensei just said..." Naruto attempted to refuse. Only for his stomach to growl again.

Sakura also held up her tray, "If we're going to fight as a team we can't have you giving us away with your growling stomach."

"Sakura-chan..."

Sakura sent him a glare, "Just eat. I'm doing this for Sasuke."

"Liar," Shannaro added cheerfully aware that she couldn't argue. Not that he wasn't going to get it later.

"But... Sensei..."

"Don't worry, I'm on a diet and I'm not that hungry," Sakura said as she dropped a rice ball into his open maw.

Then there was an explosion of smoke.

"You three! You broke my rules. Any last words."

Shannaro thought the thunderclouds and lightning was a bit much.

"We fight better as a team when all of us are fed," Sasuke said with a smirk.

"So we couldn't let him starve could we?" Sakura said, following Sasuke's lead and managing a sickly sweet smile.

"Yeah, they did it 'cause they're my teammates!" Naruto shouted with a grin. And rice on his face.

"Very well... you pass!" Seeing their blank faces, Kakashi continued, "Because a ninja who breaks the rules is trash but a ninja who doesn't care for his friends is worse than trash."

* * *

AN: Shannaro's name is far from solid, just went with my first idea. Because Inner/Uchi Naru Sakura would be a bit weird. And the wrong gender.

Apologies to His Dark Materials fans, those characters won't be making an appearance until mid-way through the Chuunin exams. And apologies to those fed up with the Wave Country Arc, I'll skip as much as I can.

Also apologies for the inconsistent tenses.


End file.
